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LIVE MATCH CENTRE - New Zealand v Australia
By Jack Davies
New Zealand and Australia head to Japan this weekend for the third and final instalment of this year's Bledisloe Cup.
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The All Blacks triumphed comfortably in the opening two matches on their way to winning the Rugby Championship, leaving the Wallabies playing for pride in Yokohama.
New Zealand have lost just twice in their last 21 games against Australia (W17, D2), winning nine of their last 10 games against the Wallabies, including the most recent encounter at a neutral venue - 34-17 at Twickenham in the 2015 Rugby World Cup final.
These sides have only met in Japan on one previous occasion, with the All Blacks prevailing 32-19 in 2009.
Australia endured a miserable Rugby Championship, finishing only a point off the bottom, and have won just three of their last 11 games (L8).
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The Wallabies will be well aware of the threat posed by Rieko Ioane, who has scored three more Test tries (10) than any other player in 2018.
The top try scorers for Australia this year are Will Genia and Dane Haylett-Petty with three each.
Israel Folau has scored just two tries in seven matches this year – in 2017, he scored 12 tries in just 10 matches.
Whatever the result, it promises to be a special day for Sekope Kepu, named among the replacements, who could become the ninth player to win 100 caps for Australia and the first prop to do so. He would be the 10th prop from any nation to reach this milestone.
Watch: Wallabies skipper Hooper on Kepu and how to beat the All Blacks
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Latest Comments
You'd swear they didn't win 28-7 away from home....
Go to commentsMcKenzie is better than Barrett , but not better than Richie Mo'unga. Richie regularly outplayed DMac in Super Rugby. , as he did in the 2023 Final in Hamilton. I remember the 2021 Aotearoa Super Rugby Final here in CHCH. Mo'unga took him to the cleaners. McKenzie is a fine footballer , but at best a hybrid 10 . Fergus Burke , ( now playing in England ), who made a big difference when he came back late in the Crusaders season , is a better 10 than DMac. I also think 140 game + Crusader Matt Todd was always a better no 7 than Sam Cane.A big part of 3 title winning teams when South African teams were still in the comp. How many titles did the Chiefs win in that period of time?
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